World RX – Loeb takes the plunge

The team Peugeot -Hansen will look to retain his Teams title in 2016 by trying to win the Drivers title. The Franco-Swedish team will count in particular on the arrival of Sébastien Loeb who will complete his first full season in World RX at the wheel of the 208 Supercar.

“I am happy to tackle this new challenge”, declared the nine-time champion of WRC who recently tested his mount in Dreux (Eure-et-Loir). “The car is very pleasant to drive. It is very powerful and has good dynamic behavior. Compared to a car rally, she has a lot more horsepower and is therefore a little more brutal in her reactions. It requires intense driving and it’s fun! On the other hand, I still have to discover everything that involves fighting in the peloton, race strategy, tire management, joker lap…”

The Alsatian is aware that the task will not be easy against increasingly competitive and experienced competition, particularly against his former opponent Petter Solberg, double reigning world champion.

“I will have to learn quickly and, in particular, know how to seize the right opportunities, dive when necessary to overtake because, often, the opportunity only presents itself once... I also hope that I will be fast enough in this environment new to me. For the moment, I have a good feeling but I know that there are very few attempts to get into the swing of things...", specified Sébastien Loeb.

“We will have to train him Rallycross », recognized Bruno Famin, the director of Peugeot Sport. “We know his learning abilities. However, we see that the level is rising from year to year. It's a discipline for specialists and Sébastien will have to discover everything while Timmy (Hansen) is already vice-world champion. »